Recent Opinions

It’s time to call all of these hate acts against people of color what they are: acts of terrorism. We must stop tiptoeing around this word, terrorism, which makes us uncomfortable, because the use of the word “terrorism” to describe the actions of part of the American population will make its perpetrators aware of our hypocrisy.

Growing up, I longed for people to view me as intelligent. I loved being associated with the adjective smart, and I, in turn, also complimented others’ intelligences freely. It wasn’t until later that I realized how damaging and invalidating that simple praise could be.

OPINIONS

Compassion and Our Personal Initiative

In the wake of recent tragedies on college campuses — a young woman taking her life at the University of Pennsylvania and a shooter at Purdue taking the life of another — it is easy to feel grief and distrust settle in your being. How can these young people, young like us, fail to find alternative releases for their feelings so that they become overwhelmed to this heart-sickening degree? After hearing news like this, you might begin to look at the world through more skeptical eyes, and then a hardening gradually takes place in the heart.

Yet we cannot allow our hearts to harden, especially in these times of sadness and despair. We cannot allow a wall to build in our chests, for those walls will only keep us from the one thing that can truly heal the deep cultural wounds expressed and perpetuated through these tragedies. Instead, we need to do what might feel counterintuitive. We need to turn wholeheartedly to love.

When in high school, I suffered a great deal from debilitating anxiety. It hit me like a wall. My life as I knew it, painted as perfect on the outside, was crumbling. My foundation of self gave way, and I no longer felt at ease in my body — nor on this planet for that matter.

I struggled with the big existential questions. Why am I here? Am I lovable? Who even am I? I felt that I had truly lostmyself. On most days an anxious fear gripped my reality, and I wasn’t sure if I could continue to live this way. When would the pain stop? Would it ever?

I’m blessed with a family that granted me the gift of safety and vulnerability. I could expose my struggle and seek the help I needed. This was a challenge at school, a space that did not possess the same qualities of acceptance. But at home, I was able to begin the ongoing process of deep healing I needed. I was able to be me, in whatever expression of me took form that day.

Through my experience of suffering, I realized that we can never make assumptions about individuals, regardless of how “together” they may appear on the outside. As we all know, suffering can linger behind a laugh or a smile. So it is our duty to be receptive to the suffering of our Stanford peers, and to create a sense of safety so that suffering no longer has to be veiled.

How can we do this? The answer is to cultivate compassion in all walks of life.

In Latin, the original root word of “compassion” literally translates to “suffering with.” Yet the idea of suffering with someone does not necessarily create in us resolve. The true definition of compassion does not only entail suffering with an individual, which might be more appropriately coined empathy: rather, it suggests possessing a quality of love, understanding and hope while feeling for another. By compassionately helping with another’s suffering, you are not drained, but left feeling stronger; you are not handing over oil for the lamp, but rather, you are giving enduring light.

Compassion involves forethought. It involves being in tune with one another’s feelings and suffering by giving all those that we interact with “the gift of sight.” As Jeff Brown wrote, “If there is any need that is perpetually unmet on this planet, it is the need to feel seen.”

Ultimately, we all seek “to feel seen in our humanity, in our vulnerability, in our beautiful imperfection.” I would like to think that both of these tragedies would not have happened if only those individuals had been seen, had been heard, had been understood, and had been extended compassion. “When we are held safe in that, a key turns inside of our hearts, freeing us from our isolation, transforming our inner world.”

I care about Stanford deeply. I believe we are a collection of kind but very busy individuals. It is so vastly important that we make sure to take the time in our busy lives to truly see each other: to ask questions, to listen and to be compassionate towards ourselves and others.

Even when the sun is shining and the palm trees are swaying in a gentle breeze, you should be able to have a bad day and feel safe in sharing it. Grow your communities. Extend a smile or a kind word. Put away your phone and make eye contact as you walk to class. Make an effort to connect. And in the wake of this tragic news, do all that you can to soften your heart towards everybody you find. Love is the only thing that truly heals. To complete the Brown quote, to love is to say “ ‘I see you’ — perhaps the most important words we can utter to another.”

With Love,

Annie Anton, Class of 2014

Please sign Stanford’s Compassion Charter. Commit to Stanford’s goal of being a compassionate institution. To find out more details about the charter and sign, please visit http://compassionatestanford.weebly.com/

Annie Anton is an undergraduate majoring in Psychology. Contact her at aanton@stanford.edu

So beautiful! I agree that we need to remember that we all share the emotions of joy and woe – and as a result we need to keep empathy and compassion at the forefront of who we are. Keep inspiring others to love.

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Opinions Columnists

Nick Ahamed The Muckraker

Mark Bessen The Fault in Our Systems

Winston ShiA More Perfect Union

Mysia AndersonEvolving

Johnathan Bowes Super Tuesday

Aimee TrujilloSuper Tuesday

Veronica Anorve Super Tuesday

Neil ChaudharyDouble Take

Mina ShahWednesdays in the World

Raven JiangQuoth the Raven

That’s what we said

Until we build a culture where mental health is urgently and openly discussed — and we are well on our way — the demand for CAPS will only grow. Students, accustomed to some of the best student services in the world, expect better from what is supposed to be the University’s last line of defense. —Vol. 247 Editorial Board